The Way You Smile
by wolfgirlnowandforever
Summary: Gameverse. Falkner would much rather be back in his gym, taking care of his birds. Whitney refuses to let him be such an introvert. Mild Falkner/Whitney.


**A/N:** This was originally part one of a two-part kink meme fill, but since they weren't completely connected, I figured I'd post them separately. I found out I really liked Rollingwindshipping while writing this~!

* * *

"Whitney, I don't want to be here…" Falkner murmured, wondering if the pink haired girl would even hear his remark through all the commotion around them.

She turned her bright pink eyes, the same shade as her hair, towards him. A happy smile played on her lips. "Why do you say that, Falkner? This place is awesome!"

Of course Whitney would think that. She liked big crowds and loud music. Falkner however, preferred to stay inside his gym and work with his birds. But for some reason, Whitney had decided that today was the day that she was going to get him to go with her to the yearly festival in Olivine City. He'd tried to tell her that he didn't' want to go, that he didn't have time to hang out with her, that he would have much rather stayed in Violet City, but she hadn't taken no for an answer and now here he was, walking the too crowded streets of Olivine City with a girl who didn't seem to care how much he was (or in his case, wasn't) enjoying himself.

"Hey Falkner, look at that!" Whitney cried, pointing over to a display. Falkner could see from here that it was for special Pokémon kites. She grabbed his hand and started steering him towards them. "Let's go see them up close!"

"Whitney, wait." He said, surprised by her sudden display of strength. He knew that she was definitely stronger than she looked, but it still took him by surprise when she grabbed him like this and dragged him around behind her.

She didn't pay him any attention (not that he expected her to, but it never hurt to try right?) and kept him at her side until they were right in front of the display. She looked up at the colorful creations, her mouth curving upwards at the sight. "Wow." She breathed, blinking up. "They're all so cute! Do you think all of them can fly, Falkner?"

He looked up from his shoes, the question grabbing his attention. Some of the kites actually looked very aerodynamic, while others looked like they wouldn't get more than two feet off the ground, if that. The ones at the top, in particular, looked very well made. Despite being very elaborate and gaudy looking, they were shaped well and could probably soar almost as high as his Pidgeot.

He nodded. "A few of them might be able to fly. I think most of them are for decoration though."

Whitney giggled. "Well I like them. If I bought one, would you fly it with me?"

"Sure." He said, not having to think twice about it. When flying was involved, he had little resistance. "I could probably help you get it as high as one of my birds." He added.

"Birds, birds, birds." Whitney sighed. She squeezed his hand (she hadn't let go, he realized now) and pouted. "I brought you out here so you could get your head out of the clouds and have a little fun!"

"I'm having fun." He lied. By the look on her face, he could tell that she didn't believe him. "I'm not miserable, at least."

"Not good enough." She huffed. "Come on, let's go look at the boats over by the harbor! That's always fun!"

Falkner let her drag him over to the boats. He knew that it wouldn't do him any good to complain, it would only make her want to succeed in her self-imposed mission even more. For some reason, Whitney had gotten it into her head recently that he wasn't having enough fun. Which certainly wasn't true. He enjoyed his time spent caring for his Pokémon, the battles he had, and his weekly trips to Kanto. But somehow, Whitney didn't understand that not everyone wanted to be taken out to a festival to have a good time.

She meant well though, so he didn't really mind. She genuinely thought that he was missing something.

Whitney looked out into the horizon, her eyes widening. "Wow, look at all that water. We hardly ever get to see it in Goldenrod, because of all the buildings. And even then, it's not the actual ocean. Doesn't it look great, Falkner?"

He felt himself nodding. "Yeah, I guess so."

She grinned up at him. "So it's a good thing I dragged you out here, isn't it?"

He rolled his eyes. "It's not like I missed it or anything. It's just nice to see it right now."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "You're enjoying yourself and you know it! Hey, let's go look at that place over there!" She said, pointing over to a row of stalls that seemed especially crowded with people.

Falkner groaned, but Whitney either didn't hear him or didn't care that he didn't want to go over there, because she tugged on their linked hands and they were off again. She never seemed to want to stand in one place for too long. Falkner didn't mind exactly, but he wondered if she ever took the time to enjoy what she was seeing before moving on.

When they neared the stalls, he saw why she was so eager to come over. It was a line of food stalls. The scent of cooked meats and sugar mixed in the air, giving off a strange but not unpleasant smell that hit him before they'd actually reached them.

Whitney couldn't seem to keep the smile off her face. "This is always the best part of the festival! Falkner, what do you want to get first?"

He blinked at her, surprised at her question. "First?"

She nodded, looking at him like she couldn't believe he could ask that. "We have to try everything, you know. They have food from Sinnoh and Hoenn and even a few stalls from Unova. I want to taste everything!"

"But you could get sick that way." Falkner said, finding it hard to believe that she actually wanted to try everything.

She tilted her head, a mischievous smile playing on her features. "Aw, are you worried about my health?"

He felt his face heat up a bit. "I'm just a little concerned is all."

"Don't worry, I can put away as much as any Snorlax." She said, laughing. "But if you're really worried, I'll take it easy. Ooh, let's start with something sweet!"

She took him over to a little stall that didn't seem to have attracted many customers. The person running it perked up when she saw the two of them approaching. "Hello, welcome!" She greeted in a thick accent. She definitely wasn't from around here.

"Hi there, ma'am!" Whitney greeted the woman, her enthusiasm mirroring the woman's. She let her eyes trail over the treats in the stall. "What is it that you have here?"

She smiled, genuinely happy that Whitney was curious about her wares. "Special candies from my home region of Kalos. Would you like to try some?"

Whitney nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, please! How about you, Falkner? Want to try some with me?"

He shrugged, letting go of her hand to reach into his pocket for his wallet. "How much do they cost, ma'am?"

Whitney frowned at him. "Hey, this is my treat! I'm the one who invited you out after all."

He waved away her words. "Nonsense, I'll pay for you. I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I let you buy it for me. How much, ma'am?"

"Two pokedollars each." The woman said, smiling up at him. "But for you and your girlfriend, I'll sell you two for three."

He blinked, his fingers pausing as he reached into his wallet for the money. "I… s-she's not my girlfriend." He stuttered, feeling his eyes widening at the thought.

The woman glanced over at Whitney, her eyebrows coming together in confusion. "Oh no? I'm sorry, you two looked like a couple, so I just assumed... I'm sorry."

Whitney laughed, not at all offended. "I guess from an outside perspective, we do look like a couple, don't we Falkner?"

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He pulled out four Pokedollars and handed it over to the woman, focusing on her instead of the giggling girl next to him. "Here you are, keep the change ma'am."

She took his money and handed him two colorful bags of candy. She seemed to have gotten over her mistake and smiled warmly at him. "Thank you so much, come back anytime!"

Whitney waved back at her as they started walking away. "Bye, and thank you!"

Falkner handed her one of the bags, unable to meet her eyes. Whitney opened it up immediately, starting to place the sugar coated candy into her mouth.

Her eyes widened and she made a little noise of happiness as she turned towards him. "Oh wow, these are really good! Try some." She said, pulling out a piece and bringing it to his lips.

He jumped back, his eyes going wide at how close she was standing. "I… I can feed myself, Whitney." He mumbled, feeling his face grow hotter.

She laughed at his expression. "I know, but I like feeding people. Now open your mouth so you can taste this, it's really yummy!"

She had that determined look in her eyes again, and Falkner decided that it was better for himself if he just let her do what she wanted. He opened his mouth and Whitney placed the sugary treat inside. Her fingertips brushed his lower lip as she let her hand drop, and he closed his mouth immediately. It took him a moment to register the taste of the candy, but when he rolled it in his mouth, he was surprised at the sudden burst of flavor.

Whitney smiled, watching his expression change from cautious to pleased. "See, didn't I tell you?"

He nodded his head, a small smile forming on his lips. "It's good."

"Hey, I made you smile!" She said, pointing at his face. She grabbed his free hand with hers, intertwining their fingers, practically radiating satisfaction. "Knew I could make you happy today. I just wish I'd figured out earlier that candy was the way to go."

He looked down at their hands. This was different from the way she'd grabbed it earlier, and he was torn between wanting her to let go and wanting to squeeze her hand. He didn't have a chance to act on either thought though, before she started tugging them forward again.

"Ooh, traditional food!" She cried. She turned her head back and smiled at him. "I want to try that next!"

He smiled back, deciding that maybe he wasn't so against leaving the gym after all. "Okay, lead the way."


End file.
